The retail sourcing and procurement market is expected to register a CAGR of 13% during the forecast period 2019-2024.

There is an increase in the centralization system of procurement processes with the advanced technologies and storage systems, such as advanced cloud storage system, which is assisting to have better visibility of data.

Key Highlights

Companies across retail sector are repetitively trying to find out the new areas through which they can reduce their total operational costs. Implementing new advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, deep learning and blockchain will help to automate the sourcing procurement activities in a better way. For instance, RFID chips can be placed on every product to provide a way for the business owners to track their inventory easily.

Once implemented, it is very time consuming and cost intensive to reverse the sourcing method or put into practice another technology. Thus it requires sufficient planning to select and execute the sourcing and procurement methods.

Market Trends

Contract Management to Dominate the Market

Today’s retailers compete in a highly fluid market with tight margins. In order to compete, companies must have full visibility into supplier relationships and sales performance to reduce leakage and optimize operations. Contracts are key to meeting these challenges.

In the retail industry, paperwork is done daily for a large number of cashier operations With the right cloud-based contract management solution, it can be faster, cheaper, and safer to manage a company’s contract portfolio.

This traditional paper process leads to significant costs (consumables, printing and sometimes sending) and generates some delays. There is a need for efficient centralization of contract documents by printing, signing, scanning and storing them.

The latest trend pertaining to contract management is electronic hand signatures. Signature pads are the best choice for capturing electronic handwritten signatures at teller and counter locations. These reliable devices guarantee a low total cost of ownership (TCO).

North America to Occupy Major Share

According to Business.org, the top 20 startups of ecosystems are located in North America, for instance, Austin and Texas have more than 5,500 start-ups, as well as big- tech giant firms, like Facebook, Google, and Apple.

Owing to this, Retail Enterprises (SMEs and Large) are investing heavily in the North America region and aiding the significant demand for retail sourcing and procurement.

Furthermore, factors, such as the diverse packaging that increases demand for better network infrastructure, digital penetration in logistics and support, technological advancements are also aiding the market to grow in the region.

Improved technology and streamlined global supply chains/ logistics have unchained the United States manufacturing from the limitations of geography.

Competitive Landscape

To drive an increase in the need for retail sourcing and procurements software and solutions, different vendors are forming the strategic partnerships with different technology leaders to combine their products with the latest technologies or some automation in the retail sourcing and procurements.

Key Highlights

June 2019 – Infor announced a new partnership with Linklogis, which will leverage the Infor Nexus platform to power a suite of financial service solutions designed to reinforce the supply chains of small and medium-sized upstream suppliers that are traditionally underfunded and overlooked.